Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Sports Metaphors During the Sotomayor Hearings

Sen. Dianne Feinstein: "So I do not believe that Supreme Court justices are merely umpires calling balls and strikes. Rather, I believe that they make the decisions of individuals who bring to the court their own experiences and philosophies."

Sen. Charles Schumer: Some question whether John Roberts "actually called pitches as they came or tried to change the rules." Sotomayor, said Schumer, “has simply called balls and strikes for 17 years far more closely than Chief Justice Roberts has during his four years on the Supreme Court.”Sen. Jeff Sessions: A judge who uses ideology to determine cases "means that the umpire calling the game is not neutral, but instead feels empowered to favor one team over the other."

Sen. John Cornyn: "To borrow a football analogy, a lower court judge is like the quarterback who executes the plays — not the coach who calls the plays."

Sen. Russ Feingold: Great decisions are "not simply the result of an umpire calling balls and strikes."

Sen. Dick Durbin: "It's a little hard to see home plate from right field."

Sen. Tom Coburn: “We expect a judge to merely call balls and strikes — maybe so, maybe not. But we certainly don’t expect them to sympathize with one side over another.”